Art Installation on Display
JULY 15—AUG 13
The art installation traces the garden stone path with dozens of strings using tension and suspension to stimulate your personal sense of perception.

Dance Performances
FRI, AUG 1, 7:00-8:00PM
SAT, AUG 9, 4:00-5:00PM
Through dance performances, company dancers, local artists and community members will explore the garden space as a place of constant regeneration, rebirth and contemplation.

Please join us for light refreshments 30 minutes before the start of each performance.

Presented in partnership with BAM

We have more free public events this summer and fall! For more "Arts in the Gardens" events, please visit our calendar: www.nyrp.org/calendar

Urban Theatre Movement's Handball, written by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and directed by Brenda Banda delivers an explosive take on gentrification in New York City. The play tracks a park filled with characters as unique and diverse as the city itself. Tempers flare as new transplants work to make their mark while old residents struggle to maintain their way of life. Over the course of two hot, summer days we watch a once lively, buoyant park become extremely tense as each character struggles to find their way and survive while witnessing their neighborhood falling apart. Stories become intertwined, power is shifted and change reveals itself to be inevitable. Handball tells the story of modern-day urban America and the people struggling to find their way in it.

Revenge, rage, grief and delusion thunder upon the Delacorte as Tony® and Emmy® Award winner John Lithgow takes the stage as one of theater’s great tragic heroes, King Lear. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan directs Shakespeare’s classic drama about a King who loses everything—including his mind—when he disowns his favorite daughter, and finds himself betrayed in return.

New York's most treasured summer tradition, Free Shakespeare in the Park, celebrates its 52nd season in Central Park's famous Delacorte Theater. Love and madness, laughter and tragedy combine for a uniquely thrilling season of exciting theater and exceptional performances under the stars. Join over 5 million people who have enjoyed The Public Theater's free performances and experience the heights of romance and the depths of duplicity in a setting unlike any other, in the heart of Manhattan.

Free tickets to the 2014 season will once again be distributed in the Park, online via the Virtual Ticketing Lottery, and in the five boroughs of New York City. For more info on getting tickets, visit the Shakespeare in the Park tickets page.

Lola Star is daring you to bring on the waves at her Wipe Out Roller Disco.

You won't find sand in your pants after this beach party but you might need a Life guard to resuscitate you after all the fun you're going to have! Leave your sun tan lotion at home, this party has you covered.

Catch some rays from our disco lights and ride the waves on the roller rink floor. The Life Gaurd is not on duty so nab his uniform and all the other BayWatch babe's looks for your own use. We want to see your best Beach Party and Tiki Extravaganza outfit. Kowabunga!

On three consecutive Saturdays in August, nearly seven miles of New York City’s streets are opened to the public to play, run, walk, and bike. The route runs from Brooklyn Bridge, along Lafayette Street and Park Avenue, to Central Park at East 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue. View the Summer Streets map route

Summer Streets is an annual celebration of New York City's most valuable public space—our streets. Summer Streets provides space for healthy recreation and encourages New Yorkers to use more sustainable forms of transportation.

Passersby are weclome to participate in arts and crafts workshops, listen to musical performances, learn to salsa dance, eat healthy snacks, climb a 25' climbing wall, soar through the sky on a 160' zipline and explore a 179 years voice tunnel. View Summer Streets' schedule of activities

Summer Streets is a project of the New York City Department of Transportation.

The Van Cortlandt Track Club runs through and around the Yonkers-Bronx border in small groups. The club breaks into various groups based on different paces and distances, starting with a loop of the Parade Grounds, then some peel off through the trails for various length and speed runs in smaller groups. Be sure to meet back up after the run at the Short Stop Cafe across the street for breakfast!

NYC Audubon experts lead the way as we marvel at quirky but logical bird behavior and delicate feathers in exquisite patterns.

Influential birders such as Roger Tory Peterson and Allan D. Cruickshank learned their craft on Van Cortlandt Park’s ecologically diverse grounds, and these walks celebrate the tradition set by them. Participants will look for resident and migrant species and discuss a wide range of avian topics. No registration necessary. No limit. Free. When birding on your own, check the Nature Sightings log in front of the Nature Center before you head out. At the end of walks, please add your sightings to the log, so others may be aware of recent nature happenings in the park.

Get a sense of Queens Botanical Garden's past and how both the 1939 and 1964 New York World's Fairs influenced the Garden's development. This exhibit is created largely from the Garden's own archives with images that illustrate these important events in New York City's history.

Come to Fort Tryon Park and try something new. Join us on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings for one hour of walking, stretching, and strengthening exercises.

All of our fitness programs are free, led by trained professionals, and suitable for all levels. Wear comfortable clothing and bring water. Please check back for rain and weather/air advisory cancels.

For a breath of fresh air, take your workouts outdoors. Parks are becoming a logical alternative environment for those who want to add variety to their work outs, or who just don't like the gym. And, it's an affordable way to increase physical activity opportunities, because there's nothing special to build.

Exercise with a view, in natural sunlight, with green scenery all around bestows health benefits that can’t be found indoors. Scientific studies have shown that the pleasure of being outdoors for example gives your brain, psyche, and immune system an extra boost.

Please note: Fitness programs are canceled if the weather is lower than 20 degrees and when there are icy conditions.

Join us for free yoga for children and their parents/caregivers with Robin Rosiello, a certified children's instructor. All aged children are welcome with a parent or caregiver.

Meet on Abby's Lawn in Fort Tryon Park, just north of the David Rockefeller Linden Terrace. Please arrive early, and bring a towel or yoga mat. Note that the ground is sloped and there are uneven spots. Rain or wet ground cancels.

Austrian artist, Thomas Stubbings, A Street Photography documentary performed in the Bronx, New York City and Vienna, Austria, gives insight into the daily lives of both cities. Capturing moments of related subjects, it shows the differences and similarities of two places so far apart and yet so near.

This energizing, seated workout for adults and seniors invigorates and infuses new interest and enthusiasm in fitness. It uses exciting latin rhythms with easy to follow steps from cha-cha, mambo, merengue, salsa, bachata, flamenco, cumbia, old-school dances and even belly-dancing, making it fun, safe and healthy for all.

Join The Downtown Boathouse for 20-minute instructional paddles. Please wear a bathing suit or shorts and a t-shirt, and know how to swim. Weather permitting. No registration required. Kayaks and life vests provided. All ages.

Please note: 72nd street Kayaking is volunteer run and volunteers are low, which sometimes results in shortened hours. The Downtown Boathouse is looking for volunteers. If you would like to volunteer please visit: http://www.downtownboathouse.org/volunteer.html

In homage to the beauty of the botanical world's most bizarre flora, the New York Botanical Garden invited members of the American Society of Botanical Artists to participate in a study of the eccentric, creating works of art based on visually unusual plants chosen by the artists themselves.

View the results of their efforts, 46 captivating paintings and illustrations of exotic specimens, on display in the Ross Gallery.

Learn to make an open mesh bag for the beach, or to put your crochet projects and yarn into. Bring your own materials. Choose any two complementary or contrasting colors of your choice. Think summer colors--for beginners, we would suggest avoiding dark colors. If you cannot find cotton yarn, then get acrylic yarn. Avoid stretchy yarns

Since 1974, the Red Hook Food Vendors have been serving the most authentic and traditional foods from Latin America in New York City. Named after its location--one of Brooklyn's most colorful and historic neighborhoods--the Red Hook Food Vendor's Marketplace has become a popular destination for foodies all over. It has been widely recognized by local & international media as a top culinary destination. Its vendors have won numerous awards, including earning best street food in NYC 4 times (Vendy's) & maintaining that distinctive honor for three consecutive years.

Quiet like a mountain, moving like a river, Tai Chi is a sequence of gentle movements based on images found in nature. In this beginner-level class, Irving Yee, a member of the William CC Chen Tai Chi School, introduces students to the internal martial arts and promotes an awareness of its benefits. Sessions are held outdoors; indoors in inclement weather.

Glide along the water while kayaking with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Boathouse at the Pier 2 floating dock! Children under 18 must have an adult guardian present. All levels are welcome and no experience is necessary.

Free outdoor yoga classes are a great way for the entire family to stay fit! Every Saturday in June through September, join us at one of four New York Restoration Project garden locations for an hour-long session.

Start your weekend with a fulfilling and exciting workout, led by certified yoga instructors. Mats will be provided for temporary use.

Collage and sculpt together a mixture of buoyant materials, such as recycled foam trays, modeling clay and reeds. Make your mixture into an all-natural raft or handmade boat. Keep it as a small sculpture—or see if it floats! Free, and admission to the grounds is free until noon.

Join naturalists from the Hudson River Estuary Program as they pull a seine net through the waters of the tidal basin at Inwood Hill Park, identifying and counting their catch for the annual Great Hudson River Estuary Fish Count.

During this free family program, participants may volunteer to put on waterproof boots and help collect a variety of wriggly and fascinating creatures usually hidden below the surface of the water.

Help water and care for the 110,000+ new street trees that have been planted across New York City! Join the MillionTreesNYC to give trees a little "Tree LC" and stewardship, and help keep New York City green by coming to a free MillionTreesNYC tree care workshop where you will learn:

What is MillionTreesNYC?

How to identify trees in New York City

Benefits trees bring to our city

Tree Care - Water! Weed! Mulch! Plant flowers!

Workshops are focused on active tree care, so come ready to get your hands dirty and care for street trees along the sidewalk. Please wear closed-toed shoes and layered clothing that can get dirty. Tree stewardship is similar to gardening work, involving bending and kneeling on the sidewalk. Children are always welcome, and must be accompanied by an adult. All participants will care for trees using small gardening tools and watering buckets. Please dress for light gardening work, wear close-toed shoes, and bring a refillable water bottle. All MillionTreesNYC events are rain or shine.

Please join The BLK Projek at The Point CDC where they will revisit that space and explore the concept of environment and resilience in a broad sense. This year the theme is “Radical Women Creating Resilient Communities.” Resilience can be described as the ecosystems ability to absorb disturbances without shifting to an alternative state or losing function. Therefore, it encompasses two processes the ability to resist and the ability to recover. In a world facing climate change assessing resilience is critical as well as exploring all of the intersections that create insecure communities who seek to be resilient, to absorb disruption and recover from the effects of climate change.

This year's event is already proving to be epic as we are partnering with Green For All, a national organization working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty and we are hosting Moms Rising's Food Power Brunch where we will discuss how to change school food and honor fierce women doing the work to make it a reality!

Take a break with an eclectic selection of favorite tabletop games for free. From Scrabble and mancala to dominoes and Jenga. Visit bryantpark.org to find weekly Game Socials and Clinics for Board and Party Games, Mah Jongg, and more.

Learn about the thousands of trees, flowers, shrubs, and perennials that decorate the Conservatory Garden from the Conservancy horticulturalists who take care of this special place within the Park. Route involves a few stairs.

From the graceful beauty of a butterfly’s wings to the aerodynamically designed bodies of a dragonfly, formal balance is found throughout the insect world. Discover the wonder of some of the Greenbelt’s smallest but most colorful seasonal inhabitants and their surroundings as we capture their likeness in watercolors. Group and individual attention given to all participants. No additional supplies needed! Class size is limited, and prepaid registration is required.

Few experiences compare with being on the open water in New York City. Our trained Urban Park Rangers will lead you on canoe adventures that range from the gentle waters of protected lakes to the challenging open waters of rivers and bays. Participation in a mandatory safety review led by a trained Ranger is required. Enjoy a peaceful paddle in the wetlands of Jamaica Bay and view the incredible birds in this habitat.

Do you want to get more fresh and healthy vegetables? If you’ve ever seen your collard green plants last through the winter, surrounded by snow, you know it’s possible! Come to this workshop to learn about ways to lengthen your gardening season. We’ll discuss what to plant and when to plant it in order to get an early start on your fall harvests, as well as how to have a garden that lasts into the cold wintry months. You will learn about techniques like row covering and mulching, low tunneling and the use of greenhouses.

Walk from the Dairy to Belvedere Castle and see how Central Park's interwoven landscapes began as a series of images envisioned by Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux. The route involves many hills and stairs.

Space is limited; advance registration suggested. Tickets are available onsite with credit card only. Please arrive at the meeting location 15 minutes before the start of the tour to allow time for check in. For the courtesy of other guests, those arriving after the start time cannot be accommodated.

Experience the sound of music as you workout to the beat without leaving your seat. This class which takes place in a seated position will increase upper body range of motion, develop strength, and tone.

Come to the Conference House in Tottenville for guided tours through an historic house where Benjamin Franklin, Edward Rutledge, John Adams, and Lord Howe met in an attempt to end the Revolutionary War. After taking a guided tour, experience the rich views of nature at Conference House Park, as well as stopping by the Visitor's Center to view our rotating exhibits!

A New York Council for the Humanities Community Conversations for Kids Workshop is coming to the Queens Historical Society!

Our very own Karyn Mooney will be guiding the children and their family members through Alexis O’Neill’s book, The Kite the Bridged two Nations, followed by a discussion and friendship bracelet activity.

Join us at our all new weekly Game Socials to meet up with like-minded players interested in the same games as you.

Though kids games are available whenever we are open, the Kids Time Game Social lets the little ones enjoy games geared especially towards them. Learn about Candyland, Old Maid, Memory, or Operation every weekend.

Musical Directions brings you Sweet Spot, a family-friendly gathering of community, cultures & music lovers of all ages, featuring reggae, soulful house, disco and afro-beat spun by a rotating collection of North America's most renowned sound architects.

Thank you to our 2014 Summer on the Hudson in West Harlem Piers Park sponsor Fairway Market.

Columbia Summer Winds is a community wind ensemble that performs annually in New York City public parks. Comprised of musicians from around the New York area, CSW presents four concerts each summer and hosts a biennial Outdoor Composition Contest.

Join a curatorial fellow for a tour of three current exhibitions. In the main gallery, Gregory Crewdson’s Fireflies series is being shown for the first time in its entirety; Crewdson’s photographs capture the fleeting light of these nocturnal creatures. In the Sunroom Project Space, Lauren Carly Shaw transforms the space into the setting of Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s short story “The Yellow Wallpaper” (1899), set in the late 19th century, when the original Glyndor House was constructed. Shaw chronicles the effect of confinement on a woman’s mental state. In the Sun Porch space, Reade Bryan’s sculptural installation investigates the way that iconic building materials, such as plywood and drywall supplies, are created and used. Here he evokes the effects of a flood or the mass of a cliff’s edge; the natural landscape appears to intrude on the interior, although the sculpture itself is made of domestic building material.

Please join the Hart to Hart community garden fundraiser cookout, where everyone can enjoy grilled items and garden-fresh sides, salads, and fresh lemonade. All proceeds go to the garden. There will be a DJ as well as other fun activities.

Remembering is both a collective and a personal activity. In this exhibition, both are on display in relation to two World’s Fairs that took place in Flushing, Queens in 1939/40 and 1964/65. Within this exhibition, collective memory is represented by shared experiences of the Fairs and personal memory by the memorabilia drawn from the collections of people who attended and fondly recall the Fairs. While these Fairs were global in scope, their attendees were overwhelmingly local, many residing in Queens. All items on display in the exhibition have either been donated or loaned to the Queens Historical Society by those residents of Queens who attended the Fairs.

Open Tuesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, 2:30 – 4:30 pm. Through May 31, 2015.

The legendary Dr. John is a six-time Grammy Award-winning musician and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee. Known throughout the world as the embodiment of New Orleans’ musical legacy, Dr. John is a true icon in American culture. His colorful musical career began in the 1950s when he wrote and played guitar on some of the greatest records to come out of the Crescent City, including recordings by Professor Longhair, Art Neville, Joe Tex and Frankie Ford. Dr. John headed west in the 1960s, where he continued to be in demand as a session musician, playing on records by Sonny and Cher, Van Morrison, Aretha Franklin and The Rolling Stones' “Exile On Main St.” During that time he launched his solo career, developing the charismatic persona of Dr. John The Nite Tripper. His latest album "Locked Down", released in 2012 with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys also won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album. In 2013 Dr. John was awarded an honorary doctorate from Tulane University alongside His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Further, Dr. John is currently hard at work completing an album in tribute to Louis Armstrong which will be released in June of this year. After a half century of creating music for others and himself, Dr. John continues to write, arrange, produce and interpret with a passion that has yet to wane.

Hurray for the Riff Raff is the creation of frontwoman Alynda lee Segarra, a 26-year-old Bronx native who left home at an early age to travel the country before settling in New Orleans to play with a revolving cast of musicians. NPR's Ann Powers proclaimed that Hurray for the Riff Raff is, "Americana with a very young, fresh youthful sensibility. She's remaking traditions through her own voice. I'm just so struck by her voice. Literally. I love her singing voice...I can't stop listening to this woman's voice. I'm obsessed!" while Mojo Magazine raved that they “have immense potential and seductive power.” The band combines country and pop with honky-tonk, swamp pop, and blues for a wholly unique sound that’s unified by Segarra’s fresh vocals and beautifully crafted songs.

We camp to create lasting memories, connect with the natural world, and bond with our families. Camping affords us the opportunity to unplug from the diversions of everyday life and to laugh and play with our families.

Experience the best of Bronx Hip Hop in this live performance series curated by Circa 95. Local artists use dance, spoken word, and music to deliver rhythm and rhymes that reflect a Bronx state of mind. Please join us for light refreshments 30 minutes before the start of each event.

The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare, Directed by Nicholas Martin-Smith

Written late in William Shakespeare’s career, The Winter’s Tale (1609-1611) is a story of jealousy, loss, and redemption. Leontes, the King of Sicily, believes his pregnant wife is carrying his best friend’s love child. Leontes’s jealousy turns to tyranny as the king proceeds to destroy his entire family and a lifelong friendship. Sixteen long years pass, and we witness one of the most astonishing endings in English literature. (summary via Shmoop dot com)

Join Julia Attaway, educator and local mom, to see if you can catch the last fireflies of the season!

During this hands-on program kids will have a chance to learn about fireflies in a light-hearted and playful atmosphere. Feel free to get ready for bed before you come out and chase fireflies in your pajamas.

Bring a jar or container and you can use your fireflies as night lights. But don't forget to let them out before you go to sleep! They have important work to do finding a mate and lighting the summer evenings.

Designed for children ages 4 through 8. Children must be accompanied by adults.

This program is supported by the Fort Tryon Park Trust and the Greenacre Foundation.

Urban Theatre Movement's Handball, written by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and directed by Brenda Banda delivers an explosive take on gentrification in New York City. The play tracks a park filled with characters as unique and diverse as the city itself. Tempers flare as new transplants work to make their mark while old residents struggle to maintain their way of life. Over the course of two hot, summer days we watch a once lively, buoyant park become extremely tense as each character struggles to find their way and survive while witnessing their neighborhood falling apart. Stories become intertwined, power is shifted and change reveals itself to be inevitable. Handball tells the story of modern-day urban America and the people struggling to find their way in it.

Revenge, rage, grief and delusion thunder upon the Delacorte as Tony® and Emmy® Award winner John Lithgow takes the stage as one of theater’s great tragic heroes, King Lear. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan directs Shakespeare’s classic drama about a King who loses everything—including his mind—when he disowns his favorite daughter, and finds himself betrayed in return.

New York's most treasured summer tradition, Free Shakespeare in the Park, celebrates its 52nd season in Central Park's famous Delacorte Theater. Love and madness, laughter and tragedy combine for a uniquely thrilling season of exciting theater and exceptional performances under the stars. Join over 5 million people who have enjoyed The Public Theater's free performances and experience the heights of romance and the depths of duplicity in a setting unlike any other, in the heart of Manhattan.

Free tickets to the 2014 season will once again be distributed in the Park, online via the Virtual Ticketing Lottery, and in the five boroughs of New York City. For more info on getting tickets, visit the Shakespeare in the Park tickets page.

The wonders of the universe are ready to be discovered and New York City parks are the perfect place to stargaze and explore the night sky.

Our Urban Park Rangers will be your guides to the solar system, discussing the science, history and folklore of the universe. Astronomy programs feature the use of telescopes and binoculars to observe specific astronomical events.

Art Jones, a multimedia visual and sound artist, will create an exciting performance using film, video, and audio devices. Recordings of the garden will be mixed with beats and melodies associated with the borough, and played along with a video montage of historical Bronx images, digital animation, and footage of the surrounding neighborhood.

Get a sense of Queens Botanical Garden's past and how both the 1939 and 1964 New York World's Fairs influenced the Garden's development. This exhibit is created largely from the Garden's own archives with images that illustrate these important events in New York City's history.

We will ride on a combination of bike lanes, city streets, and off-street paths (including the Jamaica Bay Greenway) to Fort Tilden where the Rockaway Artists' Alliance (RAA) will provide a FREE guided tour of the Rockaway! arts festival, presented by RAA, MoMA PS1, the National Park Service (NPS) and the Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy (JBRPC). After the ride, bike home on your own, or follow a ride marshal back to Beach 116th St station. The bike ride is approximately 6 miles, one way.

Where to go: Take the A to Beach 67th St in Arverne (or ride your bike!).

Through a safe, easy, effective method, Learn to Ride students learn how to balance, pedal, start, stop, and steer a bike as well as adjust a helmet for proper fit. Most people learn to ride their bikes while taking the class, but even if they don’t, they leave with an easy, crash-free, and low-stress way to teach themselves to ride.

Join The Downtown Boathouse for 20-minute instructional paddles. Please wear a bathing suit or shorts and a t-shirt, and know how to swim. Weather permitting. No registration required. Kayaks and life vests provided. All ages.

Please note: 72nd street Kayaking is volunteer run and volunteers are low, which sometimes results in shortened hours. The Downtown Boathouse is looking for volunteers. If you would like to volunteer please visit: http://www.downtownboathouse.org/volunteer.html

In homage to the beauty of the botanical world's most bizarre flora, the New York Botanical Garden invited members of the American Society of Botanical Artists to participate in a study of the eccentric, creating works of art based on visually unusual plants chosen by the artists themselves.

View the results of their efforts, 46 captivating paintings and illustrations of exotic specimens, on display in the Ross Gallery.

Since 1974, the Red Hook Food Vendors have been serving the most authentic and traditional foods from Latin America in New York City. Named after its location--one of Brooklyn's most colorful and historic neighborhoods--the Red Hook Food Vendor's Marketplace has become a popular destination for foodies all over. It has been widely recognized by local & international media as a top culinary destination. Its vendors have won numerous awards, including earning best street food in NYC 4 times (Vendy's) & maintaining that distinctive honor for three consecutive years.

Reduce stress, increase your energy and bring strength and flexibility to mind, body and spirit with a yoga practice.

Classes are led by Yoga for Bliss director Neem Dewji and other certified instructors. Ms. Dewji is certified in Hatha and Therapeutic Yoga from The Yoga for Health Foundation, England, and The Integral Yoga Institute, NYC.

All levels welcome. Sessions are held outdoors, indoors in inclement weather.

Collage and sculpt together a mixture of buoyant materials, such as recycled foam trays, modeling clay and reeds. Make your mixture into an all-natural raft or handmade boat. Keep it as a small sculpture—or see if it floats! Free with admission to the grounds.

The Highbridge Forest Crew works to remove invasive plants from the park and to care for recently planted native trees.

As part of the Forest Crew you will learn basic invasive and native plant identification, proper removal techniques and an overview of New York Restoration Project’s approach to urban reforestation. Anyone interested in forest ecology, invasive plant removal, and urban forests should join the Forest Crew in their work every Sunday morning.

New members must attend a training and orientation the first Sunday of every month.

Take a break with an eclectic selection of favorite tabletop games for free. From Scrabble and mancala to dominoes and Jenga. Visit bryantpark.org to find weekly Game Socials and Clinics for Board and Party Games, Mah Jongg, and more.